Annabeth Chase and the Quest for Betrayal
by Reading-and-Bubbling
Summary: Annabeth Chase has waited for a quest since she was seven. But now that she's finally on one, she doesn't know what to expect, who to trust, or what kind of person she will be at the end. Annabeth's POV of The Lightning Thief. T for minor language.
1. I See Olympus

**There are many many versions of Annabeth's story. None of them satisfy me completely, so I decided to write my own.**

**You can hunt me down for what you think might be OOCness. You can flame me all day long. Nothing is going to get me to stop writing what I think is te accurate version of Annabeth's thoughts.**

**If you do decide to review (which I would very much appreciate), please leave some hints and tips for improvement. Should I make it funnier? Angstier? More romantic?**

**Disclaimer: Pay attention now, because I won't write it in the rest of the story. None of these characters, settings, or major plot-lines belong to me. Rick Riordan has ultimate rights.**

**Big thanks to vanelo159 for beta-ing this story.**

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><p><em>December 20, 2005<em>

_Dear Journal,_

_Winter solstice is creeping around the corner sooner than I thought it would. It's my first time going to Olympus, and I would say I'm excited, but I'm not. It's like I'm _dreading_ going there. I don't know why, but I've got a bad feeling about this. I think it has something to do with my dreams. For the last couple of weeks, I've been having frightening nightmares about a gleaming white horse, a golden eagle, and cackling voices from the ground. I know that cackling voice; I've heard about it in many bedtime tales about heroes that came back from the underworld (from explorations of Tartarus). I'm scared to death, but I have to be strong for whatever's coming up. The solstice should be an exciting time, what with our first field trip as a camp and especially our first trip to Olympus (of all places!), but I can't help anticipating something big coming up._

_Courtesy of Annabeth Bronte Chase_

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><p>"Are you all ready to go?"<p>

I looked up from my sharpening stone and loosened the grip on my dagger. Luke stood in the doorway, handsome as always, a neutral expression on his face.

"Yeah," I replied softly, placing my dagger in its sheath on my belt and throwing the stone into the open backpack. "Are Chiron and Grover back yet?"

"They just got here two minutes ago, actually." He walked over to where I was standing and held my ski parka up, allowing me to tuck my arms into the sleeves. I let him button my coat up, even though I was already much too old for that. "Chiron said they'd succeeded in finding the demigod."

"Do they have any idea whose kid it is?"

"Nope."

"Does he know he's a demigod?"

"Uh-uh."

"Does he have any unusual powers?" Luke shook his head and I questioned further. "Any powers at _all_?"

"Nada, Annabeth."

I sighed morosely and swung my backpack onto my shoulders. I looked Luke over and frowned disapprovingly. "Where's your jacket? It's cold out there."

He took the dark blue garment out of his amply packed duffle bag. I nodded with approbation.

"Gods, Annabeth. I swear, sometimes I question who's the older one here." I dodged his hand as he tried to ruffle my already wild hair.

"Me too." I rolled my eyes and grinned at him. "Let's go interrogate Grover!"

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><p>The minute we reached the bottom of the hill, Grover tackled me in a swinging bear hug.<p>

"Annabeth!" He bleated happily. "Great to see you!"

I laughed and wrapped my arms around his thin shoulders. "I missed you, Lamb Chops." Grover frowned at Luke's offending nickname for him and pulled away, holding my shoulders at an arm's length. His satyr legs looked as though they hadn't been used to their fullest in weeks.

"You've grown," he observed, looking at the top of my head. "Your hair is longer and you have circles under your eyes. Have you been sleeping okay? No nightmares, I hope."

Luke looked at me suspiciously. Two weeks before, I woke up in cold sweat with tears running down my cheeks. I ran out of the Greek styled gray cabin and into the older log cabin, tripping over hazardously strewn sleeping bags and sleeping bodies. Luke had been the one to comfort me, although I told him nothing about the hideous nightmare. I refused to describe the events in my dream, and he assumed I was lonely or I missed Thalia or something. Looking back on it, it was wrong of me to lie to him, but it was necessary. He shouldn't have to worry about me, especially when he was having nightmares of his own.

A couple of weeks before my dream, I was reading in the moonlight by the Long Island Sound and I found Luke laying down by a rock, struggling against nonexistent forces, begging to be released. When I edged closer to him, I noticed his blue eyes were shut tightly and his hands were clenched in his hair. I had never before seen the mad expression on his face – it was murderous, even. I was suddenly terrified of Luke. It was the first time I had been seriously scared of him since his enraged lecture to all of us when he came back from his failed quest. I shook him vigorously, waking him up, and he curled up with his knees to his chest, like a little boy. He cried a lot, murmuring about families and Thalia and I just sat next to him, giving him the occasional awkward rub on his back. We never spoke about it again.

"No nightmares," I untruthfully assured him. He could see the fib in my eyes, but he chose to ignore it. Grover was cool that way – he never questioned, just let the emotions tell their own story.

"Okay," his voice was concerned. He let go of me and trotted to Luke, clapping a hand on his back. They exchanged a few words while I wandered over to Chiron, who was talking quietly to Mr. D, the camp director.

"Chiron! You're late," I tried to scold him playfully, but the centaur had me the minute he opened his arms. He had to bend down as he pulled me into a fatherly embrace, and when he let go I stepped down from the tips of my toes.

"You've been taking care of camp well, I see," he said to me, his eyes twinkling. "Everything seems to be in perfect shape, Annabeth. Excellent."

"Thank you, sir."

"I trust you haven't been losing sleep, dear. You look exhausted," he repeated Grover's words, except his face told me he knew the truth about my nightmares.

"Uh, just a bit. Nothing horrible," I stammered, twisting a golden curl in my fingers.

"Annabeth, you must tell me if – " Chiron never got to finish his sentence when Argus honked the horn of the van and everyone filed in. Grover and Luke grabbed me and pulled me in, sitting me in between them in the back of the van.

"Mmmm…" Grover sighed into his Coke can. "I haven't been able to do this in a while." He tore a big piece of aluminum off and savored the taste before crunching it to bits. I giggled quietly.

"How's the kid?" Luke asked. "I mean, the demigod. Is he showing any signs of powers?"

Grover swallowed the big piece of metal he had in his mouth and thought for a minute before saying, "Not at all. Well, he has a temper problem, and he's currently on probation." He rolled his eyes, as if _probation_ was nothing.

"Probation!" I said to myself, hating the way the word sounded. "How come?"

"Bullies, fights; the usual. Except this kid doesn't attract them. _I _do."

"So you two are friends," Luke said. It wasn't as much of a question as it was an accusation. It was off for Luke to talk to Grover that way, and it was especially off that he gave him _that_ kind of look. I kicked his shin lightly, but he ignored me. "Isn't that a bit _dangerous_?"

Ignoring Luke, I said to Grover, "So he defends you? That's _awfully nice_ of him." I shot Luke a glare worthy of Athena with the words 'awfully nice'. He stuck his tongue out at me good-naturedly, and I assumed his unusually catechized intentions were gone. Either that, or I had imagined it all.

Grover nodded and bit another piece out of the red can. "He's pretty cool for a demigod, and I can tell a lot of the girls in his class like him a lot, they're just afraid of the big mean girl telling them off."

Luke looked at me pointedly and narrowed his eyes mischievously. I tried to keep my interest to a casual minimum. "So, uh, how old is he?"

"Your age." He took the last bite out of his can and grabbed another out of the bag Luke and I brought for him. "He's not as smart though - failed everything except for Latin, and he _just_ passed that with a C minus."

I grinned back at his knowing smile over the wispy beard. "When are you bringing him to camp?"

"Probably this summer," he was barely audible over the crunching noises of the Pepsi can. "Ew, Coke cans are _so_ much better than Pepsi ones. I don't know how you people drink that stuff. It tastes like –"

Luke's sudden coughing cut off Grover's swearing. As he bent forward with the force of the coughs, a necklace dangled out of the collar of his shirt. I reached my fingers closer to touch the shining silver crescent, when Luke jerked back and slapped my edging fingers away, tucking his necklace back into his shirt with his other hand. Grover and I looked at him, stunned.

"Uh, sorry Annabeth," Luke apologized. He took my hand in his and squeezed it gently. "Reflex."

I let him comfort me, relishing in the feeling of my cold hand in his warm one, but I couldn't brush away the hurt. Luke had never lied to either Grover or me, and it was making me sad.

Of course, I'd lied to Luke plenty, but it wasn't exactly _hiding_ something from him. I would usually just brush him off, telling him I was fine when I wasn't or telling him I was alright when I was hurt. Luke and I have been like brother and sister since Thalia died, and I knew that he'd never intentionally hurt me.

"_You're part of our family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you. I'm not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?" _

"_Deal!" _

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><p>When we got off the van, I saw New York City for the first time in years.<p>

Manhattan in December is purple. Really, the blue city lights make the snow turn to lavender powder. The cars' red bumper lights made spots on the snow turn fuchsia, and the entire street was like a rainbow in the dirt.

It was kind of disappointing that the first time I see New York in five years was during the dead of winter, but the sight of the Empire State Building in the cloudy gray sky made up for it. Lights lit up each floor, all the way up to the one hundred and second, and any half blood or immortal being that looked _all _the way upcould probably see the faint golden glow coming down from the smog.

I heard Clarisse's sudden intake of breath before she walked up next to me, and I smirked at her. She was never one for emotion, and I would never resist the perfect moment to tease her.

"Impressed?" I sneered at her.

"Not in your wildest dreams, Princess," she replied, her plain brown eyes turning slightly red around the pupil, showing off her fierce heritage.

"My suspicions have been proven correct," I continued, gazing up at the point of the building. "An inexperienced daughter of Ares can't be impressed by anything, including a drastic increase of power in a daughter of Athena."

"Lies," she snarled at me.

"You want to see?" I challenged her, taking out my dagger.

"Anytime, anywhe –"

"Is there a problem, _Clarisse_?" Luke budged in, taking hold of my shoulder. I smiled at the dishwater-blonde smugly.

Clarisse glared at me and I glared right back, the rivalry between us creating a thick tension in the cold air. She turned sharply on her heel and trudged through the thin mucky snow to the rest of her cabin mates. I raised my head to Luke's and smiled, slapping his open palm to mine in a cordial high-five.

We filed into the building methodically, looking around us. Chiron stepped over to the guard who was sitting behind a tan, limestone desk, reading a book with a boy holding a golden egg on the cover. They exchanged a few words, then the guard reluctantly handed Chiron a key card. He whispered something else to him, but Chiron ignored the old guard's words and ushered us all to the elevator, inserting the key card into the security slot.

We had to take several trips into the elevator, so I stayed with Luke, Grover, and the Stoll brothers (who weren't twins but might as well _could _have been). Since Luke volunteered as a chaperone and Grover was a trained keeper, Chiron left them the key card and responsibility after the campers.

"So, Annabeth," Travis started.

"_So_, Travis," I wittily replied.

"What do you think of this place?"

The small snicker on his mouth should have made me shoot back a comment to protect my dignity (and, admittedly, love for architecture), but I ignored the mock in his question.

The interior of the Empire State Building was just as it was described in my _AIA: Architecture's Guide to New York City_. Indiana Limestone lines the walls in an elegant fashion, a round desk made of the same stone off to the side, in front of a silky United States flag. Directly in front of the entrance was a golden plaque with a metallic engraved picture of the building. The words "EMPIRE STATE" were written in perfect script underneath the picture. The elevators' lift inside the wall was lined with spotless glass.

My mouth opened, ready to start on the virtually unknown facts about the fascinating building: how the building was built by three thousand and four hundred workers, that it took four hundred and ten days of construction, and how the Empire State Building's name is derived from the name of the city, New York.

I was almost entirely sure that Travis, Connor, Luke, and Grover could care less about how many floors the seventh wonder of the world has (one hundred and two), or how tall it was (one thousand four hundred and fifty four feet tall, although before the antenna was replaced it was one thousand four hundred and seventy five feet off the ground). They probably thought that my tendency to sprout architectural facts all the time was completely useless, especially when it came to the square footage of New York's tallest building (almost three million square feet).

So, instead of shooting Travis a cocky remark or starting on all the interesting facts about the building, I grinned widely at all of them. They all looked stunned, but, hey, it was the first time I had ever seen anything quite so… _amazing._

We jumped into the elevator to the sound of Cyndi Lauper's high voice and loud disco music.

"Oh, make it stop!" Travis yelled, covering his ears with his hands.

"My ears are bleeding," Connor complained.

Grover frowned at both of them. "Are you kidding me? Cyndi Lauper is a genius. It's music like this that made the eighties strive."

Luke and I exchanged a look and he rolled his eyes. Grover's odd taste for music was always amusing, but sometimes, it was just plain strange, like the time when his obsession with the song Muskrat Love got so carried away he learned it on the reed pipes. He said he'd gotten over that a while ago, but sometimes, I still hear him playing it when he hides in the woods.

"_I come home in the morning light, _

_My mother says, 'When you gonna live your life right?' _

_Oh mother dear we're not the fortunate ones… _

_And girls they want to have fun!"_

I giggled at the song as our lift maneuvered into place and the doors slid open, revealing the magical city.

_Olympus_.

My mouth fell open.

At the sight of the snow-capped mountain, even Clarisse was impressed. I heard the unsuccessful attempt of a stifled gasp and the masculine sound of combat boots on the white marble.

"I gotta give it to you, owl head," she gaped, her eyes still on the palace in front of us. "All those stupid architectural facts _sure_ do pay off right now."

I suppressed the huge I-told-you-so grin that was threatening to burst on my face and shrugged instead. "Good to know."

Luke and Chiron led the way across the bridge to the entryway of Olympus (I still couldn't believe I was _actually_ in the city of the _gods_). The immortal city was like a gleaming Greek replica of Beverly Hills – perfect white mansions and temples, grass so green it couldn't have been possible, and beautiful nymphs and minor gods roaming around. A collection of market tents of assorted colors perched on the side of the mountain.

My mind was buzzing, trying to figure out how the _Hades_ an ancient city could be floating above New York City without any mortals noticing. It was then that I truly realized the power of the Mist.

My half-sister Jamie gripped my hand throughout the entire tour of the city. She was only a year younger than me, but she treated me like the know-all-see-all older sister. I squeezed her fingers protectively as we marched up the endless steps to the palace. She didn't let go until we were in the entrance to the throne room, listening to Luke and Chiron's lecture.

Luke was a significant chaperone on this trip. He was the only camper and counselor to see Olympus (other than Chiron), because when he came back from his quest he had to prove he had gotten the apple to Zeus and Hermes. He knew all the shortcuts around the first floor of the palace, of course, being the sneaky son of the god of thieves.

"The throne room is the only room in the palace where all twelve Olympians can gather together," he said. "You will notice, though, that today there will be thirteen thrones because Hades will be on Olympus. This is the only time of year he is allowed up here, since he was, uh, _banished_ by Zeus.

"When we go in," he continued after a brief pause in which people whispered carelessly. "I would like to remind you again to not touch _anything_." His light blue eyes turned stern and his posture stiffened. "The Olympian gods will not appreciate it very much, and you will almost immediately combust."

Travis and Conner's demonstration of internal and external combustion initiated a burst of laughter from the camp, and even Luke had to crack a smile. My half-siblings and I kept our faces serious, our intimidating gray irises reproving. Chiron looked thankfully at me and held three clawed fingers over his heart, the symbol for warding off monsters.

It was necessary we clean ourselves before entering the purified throne room, so we all made the same gesture to ward off all the 'evil spirits'. This was also a symbol of respect for the gods, and it would be much better to get on the gods' good side now rather than later.

Chiron held out his arm again, pointing to the opposite direction of the entryway. "We are not allowed in the throne room until tomorrow morning; Zeus has just delivered the message." A collective groan emitted from the campers. "_But,_ we are allowed to stay in Olympus."

"Well _that_ ruins it," Jamie muttered to me. I nodded in agreement.

I noticed Grover across the crowd and bid goodbye to Jamie before pushing my way toward him.

"What do you think we're going to do here, now?" He scratched at his goatee.

"I'm not sure," I replied. "Maybe go to some more temples." It came out more as a question than a statement, and I felt embarrassed to admit I didn't know something. My pride swooped down a little.

Grover probably noticed the swell of insecurity, being the emotion-reading Satyr he was. He gave me a small smile and said, "It's fine. Hey," he nudged me gently, "we're in _Olympus! _This is a great chance to sing along to my reed pipe version of _Funkytown_." He blew a couple notes on his reed pipes, but they sounded suspiciously like _Muskrat Love_.

Luke made his way to us; Grover still tooting scales from _Muskrat Love _slash _Funkytown. _He gave me a knowing look and a small laugh jumped to my throat. I didn't do very good trying to swallow it down but Grover didn't seem to notice.

Chiron took us to one of the main halls in the palace where we would set up our sleeping bags. According to my watch it was only eight o'clock, although I couldn't be sure on Olympus. I whispered my inquiry to Luke and he told me it was the same time.

I lay down my sleeping bag next to the rest of the Athena cabin, flattening the navy polyester until it had no wrinkles. I took my dagger out of my bag and fastened it to my belt, ready for slicing monsters, threatening gods, or cutting up vegetables – whichever came first.

The Hermes cabin set their sleeping bags next to ours, although they had to all scoot together so that everyone else could fit in the hall. Luke lay down his sleeping bag by mine, like we always did when we went camping in camp.

"So, what are we going to do for the rest of the night?" I asked him.

He lay down on top of the sleeping bag with his hands behind his head, his eyes on the never-ending ceiling.

He ignored my question and instead said: "Amazing isn't it?" I could faintly recognize the bitterness in his voice.

"Luke," I said, my eyebrows raised. "What's bothering you?"

He turned to look at me, and for a moment, I saw a flash of anger on his face, like in the van when I'd reached to touch the necklace. I was afraid to bring it up, but I had to ask him sooner or later.

The flash of anger was gone as soon as it was there, though, leaving me to believe I had imagined it.

I should have known better.

"Nothing. It's just… Olympus, you know?" he looked at the ceiling again, and I decided it was better to leave him alone than to badger him with more questions.

"I know." The words came out more as a question than a statement of fact again and I repressed a wince. I cleared my throat, "I know."

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><p>We gathered at the courtyard at ten for a sing along, like we always did. The air was perfectly chilled for a warm fire.<p>

I sat with Malcolm and Emily, my half-siblings. Malcolm was a year older than me, and Emily was a year older than him, but we all looked similar; intimidating gray eyes and honey-blonde hair. Emily was too busy holding hands with Will Solace, a kid from the Apollo cabin. Malcolm was shooting them snickers in the middle of songs.

Clarisse and Chris Rodriguez, a son of Hermes, were laughing maniacally at something Chris said, and I smiled to myself. Although Clarisse pulverized anyone who said so, Chris made her soft. Her only actual friend. In between them, their entwined hands rocked back, forth, and to the sides as they laughed.

Luke, Travis, and Conner were playing chicken with a couple of lighters. Conner was losing miserably, his face completely purple with the strain of not crying out. Lewis Coy, another son of Hermes, was holding a cup of nectar with the straw sticking out in between them, and they took turns with a microscopic sip each time the slightest hint of red crept us their fingers.

It was home for all of us. The only place we all felt truly safe. I sighed quietly to myself before turning to Jamie, asking her trivia questions about the Empire State Building.

When I fell asleep later that night, I dreamt of a grandma in a leather jacket teaching Pre-Algebra.

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><p><strong>Please review with constructive criticism. Much thanks will be granted. A new chapter will be posted (hopefully) in the next two weeks.<strong>

**~Reading-and-Bubbling**


	2. My Mother Makes False Accusations

**Gah. I'll save you from my endless complaints about school and skip straight to this chapter. But...some notes...**

**I realize that there are so many versions of Annabeth's story, and I'm certainly not meaning that mine is better than any when I say that I haven't found one I think is accurate enough yet. I believe Annabeth's story begins - not when Percy comes along (although I _do_ love me some Percabeth), but on her trip to Olympus, when Luke stole the Helm and Bolt.**

**There will be some very important notes at the bottom! Some spoilers _will_ be included for this chapter, so don't skip down just yet!**

**Thanks a million to Vanelo159 for beta-ing this story (again). Love ya, trolla!**

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><p>We woke up at the crack of dawn, the dome over our heads lighting up as the sun rose. The light was golden, turning everything in the room into a sparkling yellow hue.<p>

"The dome is bewitched to allow the natural light of the sun into the palace. The lord Phoebus Apollo's orders," Chiron told us.

When all the _"ooh"_'s and _"ahh"_'s quieted down, we rolled our sleeping bags and got out our spare change of clothes. Afterwards, we made our way outside to where some of the counselors and nymphs of the area made us bread with cheese. With each bite, I could see my breath in the cool air.

Each cabin was to go to its patron's temple until noon. I led the Athena cabin to her temple, quizzing them all the way there.

"Newton's third law of motion," I commanded. Jamie walked faster ahead so that he was right on my left side – a direct view in my peripheral vision in case she had something to point out.

"For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action," Emily answered promptly. "But, seriously, Annabeth, we really don't need to go over this. Why not socialize?"

"Socializing is fun," Malcolm agreed, nodding a little wistfully at Emily. They'd always been close.

"Yes, I _know_!" She squealed happily, flapping her hands up and down like a dog. "Yesterday at the bonfire Will and I –"

"Oh, we saw you two," I told her darkly. "Getting a little _too_ cozy, if I do say so myself."

"Annabeth, I'm _serious_." She glared daggers at me so I stopped and stood facing her. Emily was almost fifteen and the oldest in the cabin. She should've been counselor, but it was my seniority that was rewarded the position. "You don't understand this now, but life isn't _just_ about facts. Newton's third law of motion isn't going to save you out there – out in the _real world._ If you're too busy concentrating on little facts they won't help you. You need to be people-smart – book-smart won't cut it. _You_ won't cut it. _You_ don't stand a chance out there."

It was like a blow to the stomach. I stumbled backwards and swallowed down the lump in my throat.

"Will Solace is turning you into a freaking _Aphrodite_ girl," I shot back at her. I could barely see from the tears in my eyes. I continued walking, this time silent. Jamie's hand slipped into mine.

"She's right, you know," Malcolm said softly, his hand warm on my shoulder. "But she didn't have the right to say those other things. You'd be great out there."

At the temple I prayed for my mother to give me a chance _'out there_'. If it was the only way to prove myself, so be it.

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><p><em>December 21, 2005<em>

_Dear Journal,_

_I had the weirdest dream yet, last night. It was of a classroom filled with students, and an old lady with a leather jacket who I assume would be the teacher. I don't exactly know why I think she was so weird – might be the way she called everyone 'hon' and 'sweetie'. She's kind of like Drew that way, I guess. Except instead of being pretty and fashionable, she looked identical to a witch from Macbeth. And the jacket hung around her shoulders in such a way…it was _horrid_. In the middle of my dream, a boy who sat in the front row had to go up to the board to write his answer to one of the questions, and he wrote all the letters backwards. The teacher got really angry and called him sweetie and gave him a detention. I feel sort of bad for him, whoever he is. He was trying his hardest, is all, and she had no right to yell at anyone! Or call them sweetie. I bet the sweetest thing she'd ever tasted was a baby's blood on her tongue._

_Courtesy of Annabeth Bronte Chase_

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><p>The sky was turning purple when we got back down to the palace. Chiron was signing in people at the entrance to the hall, and most people were sitting on their sleeping bags and chatting animatedly to their cabin-mates. After writing a bit in my journal, I turned to face Luke but couldn't find him. I got up to search the sleeping bags, and he was nowhere to be found.<p>

"Luke?" I called over the noise, but it swallowed my own voice almost instantly. I tried a little louder. "LUKE?"

The door to the hall was barely open. It cast a shadow on the light on the other side of it.

Whispering a short _'Be right back'_ to Daniel, I slipped out of the hall. The next hall – a smaller one – was filled with platinum doors. I picked one and stepped in. No luck. It was completely dark. I tried another. This time, I was successful.

I didn't dare creep around the wall until I heard why Luke was hidden. I could hear hushed voices, but I didn't recognize any words. I put on my invisibility cap, took off my shoes, tied their laces together, and hung them around my neck. Sneakers make a lot of noise in the palace of the gods, you know.

" – not in the weaponry, but – " Luke's voice was so familiar, but his tone was one I'd never heard before. If I could just get closer to him and see his face…

I knew it was dangerous, though. Luke was good at finding me under the cap when I was around him. I tried to creep up a bit to the left of the long wall, but it was still thick between him and me.

"It won't be in the _weaponry_, Castellan. It'll be where _he_ is. Where they _both_ are."

It took all my might not to slouch against the wall and curl up. _This_ was the voice I'd been hearing in my nightmares. I bit onto my fist to keep from screaming.

I _needed_ to get closer!

Taking a miniscule step closer to Luke and sliding along the wall wasn't easy, especially without making any noise. I could hear the voices a bit better as I stepped along the wall, then more distant. I realized that they must be at the corner, obscured by any unwanted visitors.

"Try it after the moon," said the voice. The back of my neck tingled. Goosebumps rose on my arms and legs. I turned my front to the wall, and heard Luke's voice much clearer than the muffled sounds before.

"Wouldn't they be gone, then? Taken with them?"

My greed wasn't satisfied with just that. I slid on my socks to the end of the wall, keeping myself well behind it. I crept my head around the corner and was disappointed when I couldn't see Luke or his 'plus-one'. My body was well hidden behind the bend as I pushed my head more furiously around the corner and stifled a scream.

My hat was pushed down from the wall, falling down onto the floor far from the corner. I couldn't sneak around it without getting caught, that I was sure of, but I also couldn't _leave_ it and not get caught. I had to improvise.

"What was that?" both voiced muttered at once. It was eerily frightening.

"I'll check," Luke said. I turned quickly around the corner, realizing that there was no other choice but to let Luke see me now. I stepped around the corner just as he brushed his hand through a rainbow – _an Iris Message_.

"A-Annabeth," he stuttered, his face paling. "What are you –"

"I won't let you!" I cried. I wasn't sure what that meant, especially because I had no idea what the whole meeting was about, but I was sure that if I pretended to know then Luke would unconsciously say it while answering me.

"Won't let me what?" His face was rising with color now, looking so similar to Emily's face earlier that I almost cried again.

"I…I…I don't know," I finished lamely. The tears were streaming down my face now and I could do nothing to stop them. We stood there awkwardly. Luke was unsure of what to do.

"Look," he started. His hand brushed my shoulder as if to hold it, but he thought better and put it down at his side. "I don't want you to be scared or worried or angry or whatever the hell you are." His voice was crumpling up, and I knew he was repressing tears. He didn't sound like that very often, just when he was at Thalia's pine. "I want you to know that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Not you. Or Thalia. Family protects family, right?" I nodded my head. Tears dropped to the platinum floor.

"Sorry," I mumbled. I tried to hold my hands more stiffly at my sides. I knew that I would hug Luke if I didn't and I didn't think it fitting for the moment.

"Annabeth." My name sounded weird in the tone of his voice. I looked up, and my breath caught.

_Were Luke's eyes _always_ that blue?_

He hugged me at the same moment I hugged him, and it felt _so good_ to be comforted at last. We hugged for a while, me on the tips of my toes and Luke's back bent down.

Then, the most terrible thing happened.

Luke's face reached toward mine, and I thought to kiss his cheek like all the times before. I turned my head to do it, but instead, Luke seemed to want to do the same.

Our lips met in midair.

It wasn't a _real_ kiss. I mean, _ew_. Luke is almost seven years older than me. What nineteen year-old would like a twelve year old like _that_? It was gross and wrong on so many levels, and yet, it was also…well…

I swear his eyes were _not_ that blue before.

I jumped out of his arms the same time he gently pushed me away, the extra force making me land on the floor. I scrambled toward my hat, which I had accidentally kicked further away, and avoided Luke's wandering eyes the whole time I ran out. I plopped down on my sleeping bag, watching Daniel and Jamie talking animatedly and Malcolm read his book. My other half-sister, Leanne, was watching me closely. She was my age, but a _whole_ lot more observant than me.

"Annabeth? Did something happen? I sense psychological interference," she added in a singsong voice and a giggle. I looked at her blankly. She scooted towards me and tried a different approach. "What did you figure out?"

"Figure out?" My voice broke. I desperately wiped at my eyes, and flinched when my fingers felt wet. "Nothing. Nothing. I didn't figure out anything."

Leanne sat so close her knees were touching mine. She ducked her head to see my face, which was pointedly looking down. _Don't cry…don't cry…_

The tears came faster than I wanted.

" – it was un-unexpected – _hic_ – and I-I didn't – _hic_ – know w-what to do," I wheezed into her sweatshirt, seconds later. She rubbed my arm thoughtfully and nodded knowingly. "H-have you ever – _hic_ – k-kissed anyone?"

"If you count my dad, that's one person," she said. I suppressed a smile at the images building up in my head. "Oh! And that kid in kindergarten. Gods, he had the _cutest_ light-up Spiderman sneakers. You would have molested him, as well." One look at my face, and she laughed loudly.

"Annabeth, you've got to know this," she said moments later. She looked dead serious. "Luke never really came to his senses after Thalia, er, changed," I felt uncomfortable hearing about Thalia.

What would she say about this?

It would have been obvious to anyone who'd been there. All the little glances, all the little kisses – on her cheek, on his nose, on her neck. They didn't hide it very well. Not from me. Not from the gods.

Maybe, I thought to myself, that's what killed her. Hades didn't want a daughter of Zeus and a son of Hermes to have powerful little skipped-generation demigods running around. Maybe it wasn't really about the pact and more about what _could_ have been.

"I know," I told her. I crawled out of her arm and wiped my eyes a last time. I pulled my hair up with a spare rubber band and rolled my shirtsleeves up. I felt refreshed. I scooted away from Leanne and wiped my pants legs. "You're not the only observant one."

* * *

><p>"The counsel should be about to start," Chiron told us, nodding his head to a sundial in the middle of the courtyard. The afternoon light was a deep gold, turning his skin into a buttery copper. "I request you keep your hands to your sides and you don't say anything unless spoken to."<p>

Shelby Berry stuck a manicured hand in the air. "Do we sit with our parents or will we have, like, a general area of seating?" Her flowered skirt and jacket stuck out against the dark parkas everyone else was carrying. For all the pink she was wearing, she might as well have been an Aphrodite girl instead of a daughter of Demeter.

"Claimed will be seated in the front of the parent's throne. Unclaimed – " he gestured to a group of sullen-looking kids including Daniel Rye, Harper Ackley, and Mae Rivers. Luke cut in, smiling warmly at the kids. "You'll sit in the center with the me and the rest of the counselors." Chiron shot his a grateful look before continuing.

"Remember to bow to Zeus before any others. Do not pay superfluous attention to the Lord Hades, and do _not_ talk to _any_ of them unless directed to first."

And with that, he led us into the bright throne room.

To say it was amazing would be an understatement.

My mouth fell open, and all dignity went flush down the toilet. I quickly took my eyes off the room, and looked at Clarisse, who was standing to my left. Instead of making a sarcastic remark about her surprise, I offered her my hand. She took it gingerly and we walked, hand in hand, down to where my mother and her father's thrones sat. I dipped into a bow, and sat down at the foot of her throne, surveying the rest of the room.

There were twelve fabulous thrones in a U shape, and another, smaller one off to the side. Each one was different, unique, though only one was shabby looking – a swiveling black fishing chair to which I assumed belonged to Poseidon. I looked away from the sea god's in disgust. Athena and Poseidon never associated, and I wasn't one to break that tradition.

Before I could fully look away though, a glint of green caught my eye. The sea god's face was turned to look directly at me in wonder. Behind his bushy eyebrows, I glimpsed blue-green eyes. They bored into me and I couldn't look away for a few moments. My mother cleared her throat once, and broke the momentary contact. I felt violated, as though someone had told Poseidon all my secrets. I had a feeling that wasn't half a lie.

My mother was a totally different story, though. Beautiful and dignified, wise and intimidating, she held herself like she was the queen and not Hera. A soft white dress fell from gold clippings on her shoulders all the way to her sandal-clad feet, and in the one moment I looked at her I felt unconfident and self-conscience. She hadn't smiled to me when I bowed, although her stormy gray eyes showed approval. With her curly brown hair and light tan, she looked like a reflection of Emily. I wondered if Malcolm noticed.

The rest of the room was supported by massive whit columns sprouting from the floor to the domed ceiling, and I would have thought it was virtually impossible to have a dome made out of _that_ much gold. Gold was a rare element, and I wondered whether it was magically accumulated or manually retrieved.

I kept my eyes on the almighty Zeus, watching as each camper approached him nervously and bowed clumsily. I felt smug, with my rehearsed curtsey and confident posture.

After everyone sat down, Zeus stood up. He was wearing a Grecian toga and golden cloak, a metallic wreath on his gray-speckled hair. His voice boomed throughout the entire room as he spoke. "Welcome, demigods, to the annual winter solstice counsel of the gods."

"Three cheers for us!" A handsome ten-feet-tall blonde called from his thrown. His smile was a winning one. I was about to omit a smile of my own when I noticed my mother's rolling eyes. I remained serious. "I believe this calls for a haiku."

The gods all groaned and I had to stifle a laugh at the immaturity of it. "Aren't they supposed to be, like, super powerful or something?" Leanne whispered to me. "They sound like ten year olds to me."

I nodded to her with a quiet, "No kidding." We dissolved into silent giggles.

"Ahem," Apollo started, standing up. His sons and daughters looked superior. I could see Will Solace in the front, with his bow slung against his back, and I could swear I never saw anyone as proud.

"_Now it will begin_

_The winter solstice counsel_

_It is really cool"_

I snuck a glance at Leanne, who was shaking with laughter, and then looked back at my mother, who was covering her eyes with her palm. _That's _the god of poetry? Wasn't he father to Shakespeare? Tennyson? Silverstein?

"Must they _always_ end with 'it is really cool', brother?" Artemis called from her own moonlit throne. Her auburn hair glinted with golden flecks.

"Don't be bitter, love. It's alright to be jealous," he told her, with another award-winning grin. I could see where all the Apollo children got their good looks.

And so the counsel dragged on, with the gods complaining and bickering to and fro. I was beginning to think nothing interesting would happen and it would be one heck of a waste of bus rental, but then Hades spoke up from his corner. "The weaponry has been searched through."

Everything was deathly silent for a moment, before my mother spoke up. "Pardon me asking, but how?"

"Yes, yes," Zeus cut into whatever Hades was going to say. "It is impossible. I have twenty storm spirits guarding all entrances. And, anyways, _who_ and _why_ would anyone like to break into weaponry when they know the consequences are execution?"

Ignoring his brother's remark, Hades continued. "I suggest you all keep your items close by you tonight, is all, brother."

Zeus scoffed and placed a metal cylinder in a holder next to his throne.

I looked at Poseidon again and he seemed to look thoughtful, his intense eyes concentrating on…

On _Luke_.

Luke's face was guarded and lacked all emotion. I remembered earlier, the chilled voice and his frightened appearance. The mention of a weaponry popped into my head.

Could it have been Luke that snuck into the weaponry? Poseidon certainly seemed to think so, for a reason yet unknown to me. Neither made any remark though, so I turned to face Athena again, who was too busy analyzing Zeus to notice anything. I felt a little angry with my mother, that she didn't notice that someone was _clearly_ suspicious. She paid no attention.

"It is almost impossible that anyone sneak into the weaponry, uncle," she said to Hades, and his black eyes smothered fire. "I have strategically arranged a guard all around it. No one can sneak past it. No one but a traitor," her pointed look was directed at Hades. "Unless you have something else to say…?"

It was enough for Poseidon. I agreed. It's one thing to deny any weakness, but to accuse another god? He stood up and in his simple toga and cotton cape, he looked a thousand times more powerful than Zeus, who was lazily sitting in his throne and tracing the perimeter of his armrest.

"Athena, enough. You haven't a right to accuse anyone. There is a fault in every plan, a loophole in every contract. For you to direct the lord, my brother, is the same as it would be for me to point you out. _You_ know all the defenses. Couldn't _you_ have snuck in?"

Athena's wrath was something I would _not_ want to endure. She towered over her children as she stood up. I gripped Leanne's forearm in fear. "Uncle-"

"_You_ did not do it. _Hades_ did not do it. Enough with the backstabbing! I'm _sick_ of it!"

He walked through his own invisible crowd of children and disappeared through the golden arch in the back of the room. Athena looked smug.

"I knew it. I always did," she told Zeus. He quirked an eyebrow. "It was him - _Poseidon_ snuck into the weaponry. He's just trying to frame everyone else! How utterly, wickedly _sick_ of him!"

"Now, Athena," Zeus started, but it was Hera who now stood.

"We are a _family_. You must have some nerve, woman, to accuse your own uncles of attempted theft. We do _not_ turn against each other on this day of the year. This day is a reunion, and we must all stay together and defend each other's honor. So sit down and act dignified, Athena," she gestured to my mother's silver throne. Athena sat down as gracefully as she could with her pink-stained cheeks.

"Hear hear!" Ares called, pumping a trained fist in the air. His children followed to do the same.

I exchanged a look with Leanne, and in a second I knew that we were thinking the same thing.

It was all a matter of time before we would be betrayed.

* * *

><p><strong>Just to get this across, I, in no way whatsoever, support Lukabeth. I don't think Luke is a heartless jerk, either, though, for those of you haters. ;) I'm just saying that there <em>is<em> a reason for all of the blushing-crushing going on in The Lightning Thief. Don't let this part turn you down. Remember, I'm a Percabeth shipper like no other.**

**Another thing - I'm beta-ing a story for the very lovely and very talented Icedragon19. Her second chapter (first chapter not including prologue) should be up very soon! It's definitely something to look forward to, so head over to her profile and click the linkety-doo. Reviewreviewreview.**

**If you're a Prompts follower then I'm really sorry for the wait. Vanelo159 and I are trying to figure this all out. It's sort of hard, with school in the way and all the other icky things stopping us. But once we'll have it, a letter will be sent out to all of the past participants. I hope you'll be interested in joining (again)!**

**Sorry that this chapter was shorter than the previous. I felt like this was a good place to stop, and it didn't make it _too_ short either. If there's one thing I hate it's probably 500 word chapters.**

**I don't want to tell you the next chapter will be up and then miss the deadline, so I'll say in a month or less or more kind-of ish.**

**Reviewreviewreview.**

**RAB**

**(P.S. I promise - no crazy A/N next time!)**


	3. I Get a Fury Book

**Wow. I would say something to celebrate the birthday of this fic but with only three chapters I really don't deserve it.**

**The story's developing and so is my writing. I really have no excuse for being so late, but in my defense if I wrote this any sooner then it would have sucked much more than this.**

**An incredible thank you to the amazing Storyteller1425 for beta-ing this and being an awesome person.**

**See you at the bottom!**

* * *

><p>I awoke to the sound of rain lapping the window in the Athena cabin.<p>

"She's alive!" Leanne shrieked in my ear and she threw the blanket off my cold body. I shivered and kicked her knee, but my stiff leg didn't do so much as make her flinch. "You missed out on the New Year's Eve bonfire last night. You okay?"

I rubbed my eyes and sat up in bed, leaning on my right hand and picking at a soft wet line on the side of my mouth. _Ew_.

Drooling was new to me since I started the vivid dreams about the creepy teacher in the leather jacket and the black haired boy. I dimmed my eyes and l lay back down to try and remember my previous dream, but I could only conjure an image of white horse legs. Surely Chiron, but what did he have to do with anything?

"Why is it raining?" I asked Leanne, pulling on one of Emily's wool cardigans, before remembering I wasn't speaking to her and throwing it aside. I grabbed my blue sweatshirt off the ground.

Malcolm walked over to the girls' side of the cabin and took some of my sketches off the foot of the bed. He sat down and dried his wet hair with a towel. "I went to see Chiron and he seemed as confused as you are. I think Zeus and Poseidon are feuding again."

The sky cracked overhead in perfect sync with Malcolm's voice.

"Does that mean no breakfast?" Leanne groaned and plopped on the floor. Malcolm grinned at her and brought out a plate of toast and fruit. Leanne jumped in and took her share, nibbling all the crust off her toast before spreading butter on it. Malcolm and I exchanged a look and rolled our eyes.

The sky didn't clear up until eleven, and by then we were all working hard on our projects without noticing anyone. I was making changes to my Iris temple, an addition I thought would be great at camp. Why not pay some homage to the goddess who helped us so much with all our communication? I smiled to myself and drew a small rainbow in the corner of my page. At the corner of my desk, Jamie had pulled up a chair and was building a model of the Leaning Tower of Pisa out of Popsicle sticks. She kept mumbling quietly, "Angle…get the angle just right…"

Chiron came in to announce the day's schedule at noon.

"It's a free day, but please try to get _some_ training. I know it's going to be hard with all these storms, but there's no other choice. Free time is going to be three to four, instead of right after lunch. Speaking of which, lunch will be served immediately." He sounded so weary. He was swaying slightly on his muscular pinto legs.

"We'll take it from here, Chiron, thanks," Malcolm took charge and spoke to Chiron through the doorway. Chiron's brow was furrowed as he hushed thin words to Malcolm and his eyes darted around the room. I tucked my hair behind my ear and tried to hear the gist of the conversation but the wind outside made it near impossible to hear a word they were saying. Chiron cleared his throat once and I realized the conversation was over.

"See you in a couple weeks, Chiron," Malcolm said, nodding respectfully to him. The surprise rolled into me and I rushed out of the cabin and to Chiron.

"You're leaving again?" I asked him softly, my voice swallowed by the wind and the disappointment. "But you just got back!"

Chiron looked at me haggardly. "Winter break is almost over, Annabeth, and I must get back to my teaching job."

I looked away from him and into the woods, where the tree nymphs were shrinking into the bark of their trees and rustling their leaves. "I know. I guess I was hoping you could stay longer and help me some more in my studies."

"That's what you have Emily and Malcolm for. Don't forget, the camp store has a new shipment of textbooks, and the new tutor schedule is hanging in the big house. You and Jamie will get along just fine."

"Yeah, me and _Jamie_," I muttered. Chiron looked at me heavily.

"Annabeth, I know I tell you this every time I leave, and I know you do a perfect job every time, but this time it's incredibly important. You must keep an eye on camp. Moreover – you must keep an eye on the gods."

I scoffed. "If you're talking about Mr. D then he's _way_ beyond anyone's help at this point." Chiron's face shut me up.

"This is serious. I need you to think. Use the gifts from your heritage. Think about who may have snuck in, what they might have stolen, and how that might affect others around us. I'll expect weekly updates."

I was extremely confused. "I'll do my best not to let the Stolls take anything, all right?"

Chiron heaved a sigh. "You'll do more than that, my dear."

I gave Chiron a tight smile. "I guess I'll see you, then."

His head bowed to me. "Leave the guessing for another time, why don't we?"

As he rode away I couldn't help but feel a tinge of confusion about the distant conversation, and a tinge of jealousy for the demigod who got to see him everyday and live in the greatest city in the world.

* * *

><p>Camp was uneventful for the rest of the day. The Athena cabin mostly sat indoors and completed homework or worked on individual projects. The Archery range and sword arena were almost empty, littered by a few tired campers who seemed to give up after slashing a bit at some dummies. Quiet camp days were rare, and when they occurred they weren't very valuable.<p>

One of the senior campers blew the conch horn at dinner and we all dressed in windbreakers and long jeans and made our way to the picnic tables. I was silently rolling my peas around my plate when I felt the breeze shift next to me where someone sat down.

"Grover? I thought you'd be with Chiron," I heard Emily say so I lifted my head and turned curiously.

"Argus is making a double trip," Grover answered sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, forgot to say goodbye." He looked to the forest where a tree seemed to bow to him. "To, uh, you guys!"

I smirked at him and pat his shoulder. "Sure, Grover."

He scowled at me and I suppressed a laugh. "Anyways, Annabeth. Can I talk to you in private?"

We walked along the beach silently for a few moments. Grover chewed nervously on the collar of his shirt. "You know the kid at Yancy that Chiron and I think is a demigod?"

"You mean, after all this time, you still don't know for sure?"

"No. I mean, we know he's a demigod. But there's something more than that there."

My eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "What do you mean _something more_?"

Grover exhaled in puzzlement. "It's almost as if he's more than a demigod. There's something about him. I think that if he came to camp he'd-" Grover seemed to be interrupted by thought.

"What?" I pressed. "What, get a quest?"

He looked at me worriedly for a short period of time before Argus waved to Grover from the top of Half-Blood Hill. Grover gave me a quick hug before cantering up the hill.

That's when I knew for sure that this _kid_ Chiron and Grover were so busy with was the answer to everything I needed to know.

* * *

><p>I was brushing my hair in front of our dresser mirror when I saw Emily's reflection gaze at the mirror from behind me. I turned around.<p>

Emily's eyes were cast down. "I wanted to apologize."

I glared at her. "For what? Losing faith in your sister?"

"For lying to you. Annabeth, you're one of the smartest, bravest people, not just at camp, but of the people I know. You'll do beyond what is asked of you and will solve any mystery. I'm sorry. Please don't be so mad at me."

We hugged for a little and then Emily braided my hair and let me sleep in her softest nightshirt.

"Are you and Will in love?" I asked her, as we lay in bed, shoulder to shoulder. She turned her head to look at me.

"I don't know," she said, looking back at the ceiling. "There's something about love that us children of Athena can't comprehend. It's not logical, it can't be measured, and you never truly know if the other person feels the same about you. It's not tangible and it's not like I can just open a book and read all about it. It bothers me."

"Well then what do you feel for Will?"

She smiled a soft little smile and turned to me. I understood at once.

"But like I said, I never know what he feels about me."

I tucked my head in between her shoulder and neck and closed my eyes. "He feels that way too, Em."

She was asleep in a couple of moments. I turned over to the other side and shut my eyes. In my dream I saw a ballpoint pen turn into a sword.

* * *

><p>For a senior counselor, Luke was inert the whole week since the solstice. I hadn't spoken to him since our <em>incident<em>, and every time I thought of it I blushed with embarrassment. It was almost incest to me. Luke was family, but lately thoughts of him being something more crept up into my mind. It wasn't like I was falling for him. It was just the idea of Luke and I that ran circles around my head and made me dizzy. I felt like I was betraying Thalia more than anything else. It was those sorts of thoughts that made the color in my face trickle out.

The next day as I was walking to the camp store to pick up a new pair of sneakers and an Algebra textbook, I bumped into him.

"Oh, sorry," he stammered. "Didn't see you there."

_Seems to happen a lot._ "It's okay."

We stood there and looked at each other for a bit before he nodded at me and walked away. I turned around to look at him but he was already running fast toward the Big House.

"Luke," I murmured to myself.

* * *

><p>Grover Iris Messaged me early in the morning later that week.<p>

He looked panicked as he bleated out a high-pitched curse.

"Grover?"

"Annabeth, I've got to make this quick, so don't interrupt."

I nodded to him and the words washed out of his mouth like water from a faucet.

"The boy I'm guarding got attacked by a fury and he killed the fury with a pen and the fury thinks he stole something and the boy isn't being manipulated by the mist and he's starting to connect the dots and – _oh my gods_."

He swiped a hand through the mist and we lost all connection.

My mind was racing. Furies hadn't attacked demigods since…well, since Thalia. Besides, Furies didn't amuse themselves with regular demigods. Unless…

Children of the Big Three were exceedingly rare. And if Zeus broke his oath, it's not hard to see why the others wouldn't.

I tried to think about what I knew about the boy so far. Black hair, small build, fat attitude. It could have been the make-up of any demigod. But Grover said that the fury thought the boy stole something.

If it were anyone else saying that this kid was a thief I would have thought he was a son of Hermes. But Furies don't care about missing camp shirts or weapons missing from the weaponry.

Weapons missing from the weaponry.

_…Hades spoke up from his corner. "The weaponry has been searched through."…_

_…Zeus scoffed and placed a metal cylinder in a holder next to his throne…_

Even though Furies might not amuse themselves with missing camp shirts, I was sure there were _particular_ weapons stolen from the weaponry that might ignite a little fire.

It hit me hard. The metal cylinder Zeus was so carless about was the master bolt. The strongest weapon in all of Olympus. Maybe even the strongest weapon in the world.

The bridges in my head were building and connecting, creating new pathways to help carry information from place to place. I closed my eyes in concentration and almost heard the pop as Chiron's distasteful conversation began to make sense.

Was it possible that this unclaimed demigod stole Zeus's master bolt? Everything was possible. But was it logical? Absolutely not. Unless he was fooling Grover and Chiron by pretending he had no idea about his godly parent, which was highly unlikely seeing as not that many monsters had attacked him so far. Bringing me back to the son of the Big Three theory.

If the boy was a son of one of the Big Three then he would have attracted much more monsters than what he had attracted thus far. A Cyclops here and an Empousa there could mean this demigod was a son of two minor half bloods. Yet the Fury brought a twist to my theories and threw me off course.

I didn't know much about Furies besides that they were Hades' servants and came from the Underworld. So Hades being the boy's father was out of the picture – otherwise they had a really screwed over father-son relationship. But Zeus and Poseidon, fathering a child against the oath? Zeus should know better after what happened to Thalia. And Poseidon seemed to be a little more rational than that, judging by the way he argued with my mother about keeping 'family peace' and all that.

I gathered all my stuff in my bag and snuck over to the Big House. The campers weren't usually allowed inside when Chiron was gone but the satyr on guard duty had fallen asleep with his reed pipes up his nose so I was careful to sneak past him.

The Big House library was full of books in Ancient Greek, Latin, Modern Greek, and old and modern English. I scanned through some ancient artifacts of books before heading to one of the more modern bookshelves and trying to decipher the titles from cloudy to clear. I picked up a red second-hand looking one with a dark green title in shiny leather that looked something like _Moshers of teh Underwear_. I quickly translated it and flipped inside, thankful for the many illustrations. I found the fury faster than I expected.

Furies don't exactly 'blend in' when it comes to Greek Monsters. Not that there's any average looking monster, but after being attacked periodically by Basilisks and Hellhounds and living with Harpies, monsters start to seem a little ordinary.

Anyways, the Furies stood out to me like a cat amidst a flock of birds. The three bat-like women glared at me from their place on the page, scowling fiercely with demented features, naked down to their core with masculine legs and full midsections. I gave up on reading the tiny caption and descriptions in the dim library light so I snuck the book in my bag and carried it to Cabin 6. Unfortunately, on the way there the princes of thievery ambushed me.

Travis and Connor hopped in front of me and smiled smugly. "Look Travis, a walking encyclopedia. I betcha she knows the answer to our questions."

I rolled my eyes. "Depends on your questions, Stoll."

Connor smirked at me. "Is this know-it-all daughter of Athena admitting there are things she doesn't know?"

Travis put his hands in the air in an I-surrender kind of way. "Careful, Connor. There are certain buttons even the gods don't want to push on this little girl."

"Thank the gods you have enough brains to know _that_ much."

Connor circled me. "What's in the bag, precious?"

Travis bounced downward in a leapfrog position. He bounced to my side and sniffed my bag. "We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious. They stole it from us. Sneaky little demigods. Wicked, tricksy, false!"

I exhaled sharply and stepped over him. "If you're going to mimic J. R. R. Tolkien's words, you should at least know who he is."

Travis smacked his lips. "He's a movie producer. _Duh_. Hey, didn't he also write the Harry Potter books?"

Connor slapped him upside the head. "You idiot, those aren't books, they're movies."

Helping them was beyond my power, so I decided to push past them and stomp on some snow mush instead. _Some people_, I thought as I trudged through the cold and back to my cabin. It was only when I sat in my bed with a book-light that I realized something essential.

My journal and book were missing from my bag.

I emptied the bag's contents, sifted through all the folders, and took the seams out of the secret compartment.

Putting the 20 drachmas fine for each missing book aside, the punishment I'd have to serve was way below me. I haven't been punished for doing something stupid at camp since Thalia died and I tried to cut down her tree to resurrect her. Not to mention that was almost _five years ago_. I fiddled with my camp necklace nervously.

Where could it have gone? The only place I took it was Cabin 6…I scoured the cabin and looked under every bed and in every shelf in case it rolled off. No luck. I stepped outside and retraced my steps to the Big House, but the book wasn't in sight.

My bag wasn't in anyone else's hands all day. But it was under someone's nose.

I slipped my dagger under my jacket sleeve and marched angrily to the Hermes cabin. I pounded on the door and heard several excited voices slip into silence. "I know you're in there, Stolls, so open the door! I swear if you do _anything_ to my stuff I will stab you each twenty times to match this gods damn fine you're going to pay." Some shoes scuffling, and then hushed whispers. I jiggled the doorknob several times before giving up and throwing myself completely at the wooden door. "You moronic Stolls, what I'm going to do to you is _really_ going to put getting thrown in Tartarus into perspective you f-"

The door moved under my body and I nearly fell into the room, if it weren't for a soft camp sweatshirt and familiar arms that caught me. "Thinking about that mental hospital that I mentioned, eh, Annabeth?"

I blushed furiously and pushed Luke away. I brushed away the feeling of him from my clothes and hair, pulling it harshly into a ponytail.

"Okay, fine, forget the mental hospital. But you're running out of good excuses to kill them. Besides, all the good places to hide a body are sort of taken."

"This is a _private_ matter, Luke. I suggest you don't get involved in my business."

"I hate to remind you, but all the _private_ matters going around camp are already half invaded, _Annabeth_."

I narrowed my eyes coldly and remembered the light of Luke's eyes on Olympus. I sighed and looked up at him out of guilt.

"They took my book and my journal. It's sort of important."

Luke knew me better than anyone. He knew exactly the spot on my feet that tickled me, the precise place where I parted my hair, the direction the clothes hanging up in my closet faced, and the perfect way to piss me off. That's why he didn't jump up and down and scream, "Aha! In your face! I knew there was something you were hiding from me!" Instead, he took the gentlemen's approach (the right approach) and turned around to scowl at Travis and Connor's general direction. I could hear a muffled squeak coming from a dark brown trunk.

Luke peered inside it. "Get out of there you bastards. Give back what you took."

Without missing a blink Travis stood up in the trunk, stretching his limbs. It was a wonder to me how two teenage boys could fit in a regular camp trunk. "We could say the same for you"

It was oddly serious and cold for Travis, to say something like that to his own brother. The Stoll brothers were only every that harsh with each other when they got into their monster fights. Everyone around camp admired Luke. So why the sudden change of attitude?

"Not the time or place, you little shit. Just give her the books." Luke's eyes were burning with an emotion I'd never seen on him before.

I would have complied, too, if I were in the same situation.

Luke and I stepped out of the cabin. The minute we were out, he grabbed me by the elbow and waist and guided me to a place behind the cabins and towards the woods. I could feel him pressing up behind me, and the flush on my neck was getting an embarrassing shade of pink. I was starting to wish I'd left my hair down.

Once in the forest he took out two cans of coke from _gods know where_. We sat down on a fallen tree and sipped them. _This is good, this is familiar_. Familiar was just what I needed to remind me that Luke was family and I was being a hormonal little girl.

Us Greeks didn't believe in Mother Nature, but whosever gift was coming to me was sure coming fast.

My heart was pounding in my chest and there was an element of curiosity in Luke's aura. I was being stupid. Of course Luke realized there was something wrong with me. If anyone were to, it'd be Luke.

I pushed emotions aside. This wasn't the time for heart. Coke plus fallen trees? Totally time to use my brain. The sugar in the drink was making my ADHD stronger and sharper. My eyes were finely tuned to each of Luke's golden hairs that were falling into his eyes.

"What did Travis mean when he said you should give back what you took also?"

"Why is that journal and that book so important to you?"

I scowled at Luke and settled back into my drink. I coughed a little. "Okay, you first."

"No way. Big things first, Annabeth," he nagged.

"You're a big thing. Bigger than me."

Luke waggled his eyebrows. "And how should you know that?"

I punched him in the arm. "Eugh, Luke! I can't believe you'd even think about that."

We laughed for a bit and then Luke looked at me expectantly. I was sort of excited to tell Luke about my leads, so I forgot all about his own story.

I told him everything, starting with the IM with Grover that morning.

When I finished my thoughts, Luke looked like he had something to say but didn't know how to phrase it.

I tried to give him a little push. "It's sort of sketchy, if you think about it. Why would a Fury care about the lightning bolt? Furies are Hades' servants. That's what I needed from this book." I shoved it in Luke's face. "Confirmation. Then why would they care if the bolt were missing? That's an Olympus problem. Hades probably doesn't give a crap."

Luke stared into his coke. "Maybe the Furies needed confirmation, too, to send back to Hades."

I shot him a look. "Why would Hades care? He hates Zeus! He'd much rather have Zeus lose all his power and become king of Olympus himself – oh, dear."

Luke laughed at me. "You're just about the cutest absurd thing I've ever seen."

My face and neck flushed and I stared at the way the tips of my black converse were flattening out from training.

The conch horn blew to remind us that even though we were children of the all-powerful beings in the history of the earth, we still got hungry around midday.

Luke offered me his hand. As we walked together to the Mess Hall, I remembered that sometimes it's good to sacrifice your pride to help someone else feel better.

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><p><em>March 15<em>_th__, 2006_

_Dear Journal,_

_It's been a good several months since my weird demigod dreams. The weather hasn't improved much at all, but I didn't get this journal to talk about weather. I haven't seen Chiron and Grover since January, when they left after Winter Break. I tried IMing both of them but there's something about Iris that changes her mind right before the mist shows me their faces. It's been eating my drachmas like crazy. Luke's been looking a little sick recently, but I think that's because it's coming close to Thalia's death day. Speaking of feeling sick, the camp's boundaries are weakening. At least, the Hellhound I saw yesterday on Border Patrol was closer than it should have been._

_Summer's close and that means Capture the Flag. Cabin 6 has been making infinity war strategies. Of course, if we're going to make the same alliances as last time then we're going to need literally __one__ more person to complete the perfect plan for winning._

_This is going to sound extremely cheesy, but I'm still waiting for __The One__. No, not Ryan Gosling at the frozen lake, and not Leo di Caprio on a ship, but __The One__ to grant me my first quest. I've been stuck here for so long, and I need to get out. I need to prove to my mom and my siblings that I can do it. I can survive in the real world._

_At least give me a chance to try._

_Courtesy of Annabeth Bronte Chase_

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><p><strong>The Prompts' Fourth Prompt is coming out this week! All the info is on my profile. Check it out when you can - it's going to be awesome.<strong>

**I'm working on some other PJatO stories but I won't post any on the website until _Quest for Betrayal_ is completely finished. To answer some questions, yes, I am planning to write all the books in the series. I don't know if I'll do Heros of Olympus but never say never.**

**Virtual cookies to those awesome anon reviewers who made me extremely sad because they were anon so I couldn't ask them if I could frame their reviews in my room. Next time give me an option to reply, why don't you?  
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**Next time on _Annabeth Chase and the Quest for Betrayal_ Annabeth will meet an extremely unfortunate demigod, get a present she's been expecting for a while, and encounter some awkward feelings for some awkward people.**

**Review?**

**Until then, my lovelies.**

**RAB**


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